Norway 4: Eirik Bloodaxe, Hakon the Good, Greycloak and Earl Hakon

Question 1

Why was Eirik forced to leave Norway after two years of his rule?

Answer 1

He came into conflict with Sigurð Hakonarsson, earl of Lade

Question 2

936…?

Answer 2

Harald Bluetooth becomes king of Denmark

Question 3

Why did Eirik Bloodaxe come into conflict with Sigurð Hakonarsson, earl of Lade

Answer 3

Sigurth was Fairhair’s brother-in-law and no doubt felt entitled to a special relationship with Harald’s successor as they would rely on him for control of Trondelag and the North, just as Harald had relied on the first earl of Lade

It seems that Eirik did not agree that sigurth was that important and so sigurth began to explore other options i.e.. Hakon, who was being brought up in England

Question 4

Main subheadings/ topics for the reign of Hakon the Good

Answer 4

1) Background and coming into power/ area of power
2) Military reform
3) Legal/ assembly reform
4) Hakon’s attempts to convert Norway/ chrisitanity

Question 5

The extent of Hakon’s power on his accession…

Answer 5

Hakon had the same base of power in western Norway and from the beginning he had strong supper from his friend and ally, earl Sigurth of Lade.
In the north, Sigurth probably had all the power and Hakon was only king there in name.

Question 6

What was Hakon’s relationship with the general Norwegian populace like?

Answer 6

He appears to have been a king who was sympathetic to the farmers and their leaders; his rule seems to have been a peaceful one and he appears to have been less harsh on the general populace than his father and brother; hence his nickname ‘the good’

Question 7

What was the leiðang (3 points) ?

Answer 7

• Sagas talk of a naval levy system – A compulsory military service by the farmers
• • It probably didn’t cover the entire country in the 10th century and was likely based in western Norway
• • Areas were divided into skipreiður- a district obliged to supply a ship’s equipment and crew

Question 8

What does the naval levy system represent?

Answer 8

An expansion of the farmer’s earlier customary obligation to help defend people in their districts

Question 9

What happened in the mid- 10th c.

Answer 9

the assembly organisation of western Norway changed and it has been subject to much scholarly debate

Question 10

What does Krag believe regarding Hakon’s role in the development of the assembly organisation?

Answer 10

Krag is cautious about the extent of Hakon’s involvement in the development of the assembly organisation, as states that the administration of justice was still something that was primarily the concern of the farmers themselves

Question 11

What does Moseng believe regarding Hakon’s role in the development of the assembly organisation?

Answer 11

Moseng disagrees with Krag and says that Hakon was involved in the reform of the legal system and that he worked with the farmers to change it
He credits hakon with expanding the Frostathing an the Gulathing jurisdictions

Question 12

What was Hakons major failure/ reform which did not succeed?

Answer 12

His attempt to introduce Christianity

Question 13

Discuss Veøy

Answer 13

On the island of veøy excavations have uncovered a round churchyard with Christian burials dating from the 10th century i.e. during Hakon’s reign== earliest Christian site in Norway
But paganism was being practised at the same time in nearby areas

Question 14

Consider the reigns of Harald Fairhair and Hakon the Good at higher levels of abstraction

Answer 14

When we consider the reigns of Harald Fairhair and Hakon the Good at higher levels of abstraction, we see a repetition in trends:

• expansion
• fracture
• retreat to the centres of power and then expand again

Question 15

Unification in Harald’s reign and Hakons…

Answer 15

Harald’s rule can be called the external Unifciation and Hakons reforms and new institutions can be thought of as internal unification achieved by organisation rather than force

Question 16

Battle at which Hakon the good was killed at Greycloack won

Answer 16

Erik’s son, Harald Greycloak, and his brothers wounded Hakon at the battle of Fitjar in 961 and Hakon died a few days later

Question 17

Where was the centre of power in the Viking age in scandinavia and why was this?

Answer 17

The centre of Viking age power was Denmark

• • It had a larger population
• • a more strategic and easily controlled location
• • Close contact with the Frankish empire ( which served as the model for much of 8th and 9th century state formation)

Question 18

Why did Harald Bluetooth help Harald Greycloak and his brothers gain Norway? (2 reasons)

Answer 18

• he did not want them to stay in Denmark forever- they could have thought about claiming the danish throne for themselves
• meant he could claim overlordship of coastal norway

Question 19

Other than Hakon the good, who else did Greycloak kill when he became king and why

Answer 19

Earl Sigurð of Lade
He had been Hakon’s biggest ally
In gaining northern Norway and Trondelag upon his death, Greycloak reached a new milestone in the Unification of Norway

Question 20

After Greycloak became king, why did Bluetooth begin to distrust him?

Answer 20

he controlled so much of Norway that he was in a position to end denmark’s overlordship and Norway’s subservience

Question 21

What was Greycloak doing before he became king

Answer 21

he had spent some time in England and thus would have been christian as he would have had to convert either in England or when he was in Denmark

Question 22

What did Bluetooth do about the threat to his power that Greycloak now posed?

Answer 22

Bluetooth began to plot with Hakon Sigurðson , the son of the killed Earl Sigurð of Lade who had gone to Denmark after his father had been killed and Bluetooth promised him he would be an earl of norway as his father had been

Question 23

How did Greycloak die

Answer 23

According to a contemporary poem, Earl hakon avenged his father’s death by killing Greycloak at the battle of Limfjord in Denmark, c.970

Question 24

What happened in 974 and what was the result of this

Answer 24

Earl Hakon was forcibly baptised in Germany after fighting for Blueooth and losing in Germany
After Hakon finally got back to Norway he and Harald had developed their own animosity

Question 25

Why did earl Hakon and bluetooth fall out?

Answer 25

After Hakon finally got back to Norway he and Harald had developed their own animosity, probably because Hakon opposed Bluetooth’s idea of sending christian missionaries to Norway

Question 26

What happened at sometime before 987

Answer 26

Bluetooth sent an army against Earl Hakon but Hakon defeated them at the battle of Hjørungavág and thus continued as independent ruler of Norway until 995

Question 27

What happened in the 950s?

Answer 27

1) Harald Greycloak and his brothers undertook several forays into Norway
2) Also by this point, Christianity and paganism were probably existing side by side to each other relatively peacefully

Question 28

What is it important to note that the rule of earl hakon marks?

Answer 28

that the function of ruler of Norway ( such as it was) has by this point passed from the descendants of Harald fairhair to the earls of Lade

Question 29

England’s influence on Norway’s infrastructure/ government OVERVIEW

Answer 29

1) the word ‘hirð’ for the king’s own warriors
2) the making or declaration of law
3) charters
4) naval levy

Question 30

How did england impact the making/ declaration of norwegian law?

Answer 30

the tradition that hakon established the law code at the Gula thing is probably relaibale and reflect’s Hakon’s experience at Æthelstan’s court

Question 31

How did england impact norwegian charters?

Answer 31

like this of enland, norwegian charters are in the vernacular (unlike denmark and sweden ) and the protocols are almost the same as the anglo-saxon ones

Question 32

what does Egon Warmers argue England’s influence was

Answer 32

Argues that Norway’s unification could not have occurred without the lessons learned from Norways expansion to the west and their knowledge of the anglo saxon style of government

Question 33

How did england impact the naval levy?

Answer 33

arguably based on the 9th/10th c. english system of military obligation and their ship some system

Question 34

What year did Bluetooth convert to Christianity?

Answer 34

995